tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25839669727352994822018-05-24T00:44:11.452-07:00Jessica Dube Loves Scott Moiroycanadanoreply@blogger.comBlogger575125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-7943320449122330022018-04-30T11:03:00.002-07:002018-04-30T11:07:42.897-07:00Degrees of separationI've had a few weeks with sporadic access to wifi, and when I've been on the web, my attention has been diverted by this:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib-D-RUuNPA/WudTneJffLI/AAAAAAAAMNc/KQgNHdq3Dq0c0FQpVrHfHio6RE2-gNyiACLcBGAs/s1600/meghan%2Barms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="662" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib-D-RUuNPA/WudTneJffLI/AAAAAAAAMNc/KQgNHdq3Dq0c0FQpVrHfHio6RE2-gNyiACLcBGAs/s640/meghan%2Barms.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">WTF with the arm.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OIMKdFZioNs/WudT2M1J36I/AAAAAAAAMNg/ZjSs-wc2wFYuucFjTIwuYNLwgKzW8FViACLcBGAs/s1600/MM%2BPrince%2BWilliam%2Bkiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="546" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OIMKdFZioNs/WudT2M1J36I/AAAAAAAAMNg/ZjSs-wc2wFYuucFjTIwuYNLwgKzW8FViACLcBGAs/s320/MM%2BPrince%2BWilliam%2Bkiss.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yikes.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Her stylist and BFF is Jessica Mulroney, as if one couldn't tell:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5JecOeMdF9Q/WudUOOfnjVI/AAAAAAAAMNo/QQXn2pK_FzkbCvlVsyl_tDSPxrDID01QwCLcBGAs/s1600/mulroney%2Bjackets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="715" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5JecOeMdF9Q/WudUOOfnjVI/AAAAAAAAMNo/QQXn2pK_FzkbCvlVsyl_tDSPxrDID01QwCLcBGAs/s640/mulroney%2Bjackets.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-perAbqw6vsM/WudUZHErk6I/AAAAAAAAMNs/OpXBPB8VSWQZulcCfFiJlC_2b3z4ISO0wCLcBGAs/s1600/jacket%2Band%2Barm%2Bmm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="211" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-perAbqw6vsM/WudUZHErk6I/AAAAAAAAMNs/OpXBPB8VSWQZulcCfFiJlC_2b3z4ISO0wCLcBGAs/s400/jacket%2Band%2Barm%2Bmm.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Never been a particular<br />Royal Family (or Harry) fan<br />but Mazel Tov to the happy couple.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Jessica Mulroney is married to Ben Mulroney who has interviewed Virtue and Moir at least twice, so there's that.<br /><br />I know instagram posing has bled into video. All that matters is the 2D shot,so the walk is really a pose. Ivanka Trump is the avatar of this trend. This, though, is a whole new level.<br /><br />I can't decide if HRH really believes he's engaged to a Michelle Obama/Emma Watson hybrid, or is just marketing it like that. All I know is the posing, duckface and Mulroney-fication of her wardrobe has intensified since the engagement announcement, when one would have anticipated that sort of thing would be on the wane. And the astro-turfing is beyond belief.<br /><br />Ok, that's off my chest.<br /><br />&nbsp;*******<br /><br />I did a drive by to the skating forums and I just can't with the debate between P/C and V/M again focused on non-skating issues and complete skating ignorance. It's predictable but each time it grates. I can't with the oh so surprising latent sour grape-iness in Papadakis and Cizeron becoming manifest. These two wouldn't be in the top ten without the deal making favor swapping bullshit of the past eight years, but they've already developed an enormous sense of entitlement. It still kills me watching Virtue and Moir's absolutely brilliant, knife's edge skate at Pyeongchang while P/C assed their way through, and Virtue Moir barely barely eeked out a win.<br /><br />I really wish Virtue and Moir would pull the plug already but maybe they think they can milk a few more drops out of will they or won't they. I hope no atom of them is contemplating remaining in the sport. Just let P/C be the 7-8 time in a row World Champions and 2022 Olympic Champions and see how the sport thrives. To tie in the British Royal Family, everybody wonders if the Monarchy will survive after Elizabeth II, and I'm wondering how figure skating is going to sustain any type of interest in ice dance when Virtue and Moir disappear from the competitive scene. P/C have a devoted internet fandom, and figure skating wouldn't be the first organization to confuse internet fanaticism that with actual popularity and the ability to draw a crowd (Virtue and Moir have it all).<br /><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-81340122762257109522018-03-21T16:53:00.002-07:002018-03-21T16:55:51.547-07:00WorldsAs an FYI, I am in the middle of (trying to) travel, and I don't know what the internet situation will be when I arrive at my destination, although it's supposed to have WiFi. But it's also a very outdoorsy trip. I'll be away from my reliable internet, IOW, during most of Worlds.<br /><br />Here's a placeholder:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zSglqtTlIvU/WrLvdYojdjI/AAAAAAAAMNI/4Pv3gymzFw4TqoC_-KxB_eQFM8tLpTE6ACLcBGAs/s1600/moore-towers-marinaro-032118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1180" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zSglqtTlIvU/WrLvdYojdjI/AAAAAAAAMNI/4Pv3gymzFw4TqoC_-KxB_eQFM8tLpTE6ACLcBGAs/s640/moore-towers-marinaro-032118.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">10th place. Sheesh. No matter what my attitude has been, they're better than that.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Notable head styling on Marinaro. A little Evan Bates-ey.<br /><br />I see Virtue Moir are still being cagey re their status AND have yet to go one way or the other about retirement.<br /><br />We know how ice dance will play out, goldwise at Worlds. Enjoy it, P/C.<br /><br />Kostner ahead of Zagitova? I need to check that out.<br /><br />P.S. - re MTM 2, noticing the streamlined presentation. Wish they (and MTM V.1) had gone that way from the first.<br /><br /><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com73tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-31246695984098197382018-03-07T18:15:00.003-08:002018-03-11T16:17:55.192-07:00You be the judge<a href="https://twitter.com/canadablues/status/971259188004425728" target="_blank">canadablue's clear, bite-sized, apples to apples PC versus VM comparisons</a><br /><br />Someone should retweet to @LynnRutherford. It's a safe bet Rutherford would respond that <i>canadablue&nbsp;</i>is partisan, which is why someone should ask Lynn if she thinks the actual skating on evidence is partisan. I doubt she'd be able to say. We all know you need to be a super expert to&nbsp;discern these things.<br /><br />Me, I love the butt jut call outs on Cizeron. Tired of Gabriella getting saddled with the role of the skater dragging down the team. No fan of her, but he's nowhere near top drawer. He's ragged. Show me a case of his sublime edgework, stroking, and beautiful, un-enabled glide. Just show me.<br /><br />In the comments section of the preceding post, there was some discussion of 2002 Worlds and what a brouhaha ensued when the Israeli team beat the Lithunanians to the bronze.<br /><br />Setting aside that outrage in figure skating is always super selective and ultra hypocritical, here is the Lithuanian free dance.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xVVZWesjvlY" width="1263"></iframe><br /><br />Here are the Israelis:<br /><br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ef1GG_Gv3PM" width="1263"></iframe><br /><br />Who can tell? The Lithunanian program is exactly like most of the programs skated by most teams from 1999-2002, or it feels that way. It's bravura in style, with a lot of hair work by the woman, but how much skating is going on? He's on two feet much of the time, on a flat a lot of the time, and mostly uses his edges for stroking, working up the momentum for his next bout of flinging her around.<br /><br />I'm not saying the Israeli skate deserved to finish ahead of the Lithuanians, but it's one of those cases where, if it WAS rigged, I can't get bent out of shape. Chait is unsteady at least once during her skate, but she's not being dragged and flung around as much as Drobiazko. In fact, they do more skating than the Lithuanians, more non-stroking skating. Assessing skating bona fides amidst the flinging and running, rotating and sliding, posing and presenting by Drobiazko Povilas is challenging. There's less gratuitous non-skating with Chait Sakhnovski, but yes, I'm left with the impression that if I sent the two teams stroking around the ice, the Lithuanians would be stronger. But with the content being what it is, how can all of those who protested the outcome assess who deserved to win. The good skaters who didn't do a whole lot of skating, or the lesser skaters who skated quite a bit, at least comparitively?<br /><br />The Israelis probably are a cut or so below as far as skill level, but to balance that out, I prefer their costumes (the black and white is really refreshing for that era) and their skate-y (for 2002) program. And they're pretty.<br /><br />Speaking of pretty:<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c-p26xHB2I8" width="1263"></iframe><br /><br />And the team I understand is ice dance's latest wunderkinder:<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d15i_vOq2rA" width="1263"></iframe><br /><br />We can see the difference, right? Anyone can. Yet among the internet fandom I believe Saucise Firus are gearing up for a PC-esque cult.<br /><br />Is "ironic" the word for the prevalence of figure skating/ice dance fans who are bored to death by both skating and dance and prefer as little as possible in their ice dance programs? Whatever, they're in luck - the ice dance world agrees with them.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZE_5bByWsgw/Wp9wX0J_nbI/AAAAAAAAMMc/YnRfiZVfiSkVJuo8ZMc4TvyFvTnQN5T1gCLcBGAs/s1600/Hawayek-baker-lift.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZE_5bByWsgw/Wp9wX0J_nbI/AAAAAAAAMMc/YnRfiZVfiSkVJuo8ZMc4TvyFvTnQN5T1gCLcBGAs/s400/Hawayek-baker-lift.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Skating. So nice to see in a skating program.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Please please don't let them</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">be Paul Islam'd. Somebody give them a<br />Fix You.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />ETA - as I've done a lot, I again googled "lyrical contemporary, origins of" because, as our academic in the comments below surely realizes, "Modern" is relative. In certain historical contexts, it can mean a mere thousand years ago. In other contexts, "modern" can mean my Fitbit.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Ice Dance joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. It's a modern addition.<br /><br />Lyrical contemporary dance is older. Is is loosely defined as a sort of fusion of ballet, jazz and modern, and those genres go back more than a century.<br /><br />The first article I came across appeared to be a translation, and contained this gem in describing lyrical contemporary dance:<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">Some characteristics: ‘performance’ instead of show, dance has a social and political function (So the dance Has a meaning)&nbsp;</span><span style="color: black;">Merce Cunningham had a great impact on contemporary dancing dome of his ideas where:</span></strong></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; text-align: center;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; text-align: center;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; text-align: center;"></span></i></span><br /><ul style="background-color: white; color: #464646; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; list-style-image: initial !important; list-style-position: outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><ul style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 5px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.3em !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: normal; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><u><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">Abstraction-</span></u><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp;There’s no need to tell a story or reflect something, so unlike lyrical, contemporary is more of just dancing how every you want to.&nbsp;</span></i></span></strong></li><li style="line-height: normal; list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The audience is free to act in the way the dance makes them feel</i></span></strong></span></li></ul></ul>So that's nice for everybody, and seems like PC and their fans are the pot finding its lid.<br /><br />But I also once again googled this:<br /><br />"What is figure skating?"<br /><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating" target="_blank">Wikipedia answers: What is figure skating?</a><br /><br />Wikipedia includes this helpful chart:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4bNyxBpyf4/WqLoHHzsvoI/AAAAAAAAMMw/POJQ-aJbGWkoFpEj2wGKXIu8NwmvX7YxwCLcBGAs/s1600/Figure_skating_edges.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4bNyxBpyf4/WqLoHHzsvoI/AAAAAAAAMMw/POJQ-aJbGWkoFpEj2wGKXIu8NwmvX7YxwCLcBGAs/s320/Figure_skating_edges.svg.png" width="226" /></a></div>In conclusion:<br /><br />Figure skating and Lyrical Contemporary(ish) dance are different things. Which one is the Olympic sport? So when people ask what makes PC a superior ice dance team, they're asking about what's shown in the chart above. They're not asking about this:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNJWiDYtvOM/WqLpQ1XyFsI/AAAAAAAAMM4/o8ju4yj6Q1g9qi6Sq3AisqSufHjx6yjTQCLcBGAs/s1600/1915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="485" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNJWiDYtvOM/WqLpQ1XyFsI/AAAAAAAAMM4/o8ju4yj6Q1g9qi6Sq3AisqSufHjx6yjTQCLcBGAs/s320/1915.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1915</span></td></tr></tbody></table>*Contemporary lyrical doesn't need to observe any particular rhythm, btw, just what you want in an ice dance program.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-52413477588647441992018-03-02T19:35:00.000-08:002018-03-04T08:35:29.350-08:00Same same sameHere's a chat from Chock Bates:<br /><br /><a href="blob:http://people.com/bf52e1b5-d0cb-4530-ae68-13e4c40ec56a" target="_blank">Chock Bates chat</a><br /><br />They describe two of the requirements in ice dance (other than, you know, skating skills):<br /><br />"You must have a beat, in both programs, that is one of the many rules."<br /><br />So when it comes to Papadakis Cizeron, is the rule that the music have a beat, and it doesn't matter if they, the skaters, do?<br /><br />And<br /><br />"You have to have a change of rhythm, change of mood."<br /><br />Okey doke. Obviously, an exception has been made for PC, this record-scoring free dance team.<br /><br />My favorite comment:<br /><br />"Picking music is definitely the most challenging process. You want to pick something that will stand out, and be different. Also, <i>be different for you. You don't want to keep doing the same style of dance every year.</i>" Setting aside that Chock Bates themselves only really changed it up this year, Davis White and Papadakis Cizeron beg to differ.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UIB_Z0A2qSw/WpoUaz2A4KI/AAAAAAAAMMM/bFD1YTU_iT09CYBPzAowwdB5oiwt9xGgACLcBGAs/s1600/four%2Bprograms.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="1072" height="120" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UIB_Z0A2qSw/WpoUaz2A4KI/AAAAAAAAMMM/bFD1YTU_iT09CYBPzAowwdB5oiwt9xGgACLcBGAs/s640/four%2Bprograms.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;Let's look at 2014:<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zUgp0Cnw2oo" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />Of note, the supposedly sublime Cizeron wobbles like a son of a bitch when he attempts any type of one-foot when lifting Papadakis. Even on a flat. Oh I know, he is the god of skating skills, as long as he's on a flat. And even then it's iffy.<br /><br />Notice how much skating is in this 2014 program. It's a lot of skating. They both keep their blades on the ice for extended periods of time, criss-crossing that rink. They finished in 13th place. There's a reason.<br /><br />Been reading in the previous post's comment section that PC fans point to this program as evidence they can be versatile. Come on people, get a grip. The reason they don't DO programs such as this anymore is they don't want to end up in 13th place, or, more to the point, have skating fans think they should. Skating fans don't notice when a team two-foots throughout a program, does things one at a time, doesn't sustain, and performs dumbed down elements. As long as it looks smooth. Skating fans do notice when things are awkward and wobbly.<br /><br />Their skating skills are the same as they were in 2014. Their programs changed, and the rules altered to help them out, so as not to expose them. They're fake.<br /><br />Finally, my favorite program from when Virtue and Moir were juniors:<br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YvDMZDWEG-0" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />How many podium contending senior teams could do that todayoycanadanoreply@blogger.com106tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-37275440348212295172018-02-25T09:37:00.002-08:002018-02-27T16:43:37.353-08:00Oh so innovative<br />Papadakis and Cizeron are innovative, ground-breaking, all modern things, at least that's what their fans claim. Reinventing the wheel whenever they take the ice with their very very very very modern way of ice dancing.<br /><br />Here's 57 year-old Sergei Ponomarenko, whose son Anthony is an ice dancer. Sergei won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in ice dance (in Albertville) with his partner/spouse, Marina Klimova.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXtimyqSmLQ/WpL8QGEgvKI/AAAAAAAAMLw/2SQKLMGHa8MZ0qEF5G89T-yl1292BU5bQCLcBGAs/s1600/Sergei%2BPonomarenko.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="221" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MXtimyqSmLQ/WpL8QGEgvKI/AAAAAAAAMLw/2SQKLMGHa8MZ0qEF5G89T-yl1292BU5bQCLcBGAs/s400/Sergei%2BPonomarenko.JPG" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Artiste today(ish). So his gold<br />medal-winning days are awhile back.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>There's a whole lot of lead up to this exhibition, but the point will be clear when they begin skating.<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hXxkLJ7omA0" width="1280"></iframe><br /><br />Papadakis &amp; Cizeron's so-called breakthrough program was based on Le Parc, a 1990s "Modern" ballet that is more representational than dynamic, just what you want for an ice dance program. Looking at old Klimova/Ponomarenko, I'm wondering if PC's&nbsp;team went back to the 1990s for more than just Le Parc. But it just kills me that this lyrical arms stuff is seen by ANYBODY as avant&nbsp;garde&nbsp;(which, google tells me, means new, experimental. It means unusual ideas, particularly in the arts). Skating aside, in all of figure skating, including ice dance, lyrical ballet-ish is common as mud and has been for over thirty years.&nbsp; One reason ice dance established specific&nbsp;elements for the free, IMO, was that, since the 1980s, lyrical ballet was taking the "discipline", at least where the free dance was concerned, into amorphous mush, where the sport piece of it could hardly be located. There was later some encouragement, for one hot second, to bring ballroom back to the free for a needed re-set before ice dance found itself sliding into complete irrelevancy. Particularly as the compulsory dance (required pattern) portion of the competition was being cut. The compulsories are where these 1990s ice dancers like Klimova Ponomorenko established their "ice DANCE" bona fides before venting their inner Isadora Duncan, or borrowing myopically (but innovatively!) from indigineous dance traditions in the free. So no matter what this show program looks like (or their 1992 Olympic championship program looks like), we know Klimova and Ponomorenko had to skate in closed hold and show mastery of a number of pattern dances/steps and footwork, in order to place themselves into contention before the free. Which is not something Papadakis &amp; Cizeron have ever had to do.<br /><br />****<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2US0IV5r_0/WpLx7d1NXfI/AAAAAAAAMLg/Rer58l6_GxEobOMMvgZ-LOQOka8ZwMfTgCLcBGAs/s1600/YMHW8b.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2US0IV5r_0/WpLx7d1NXfI/AAAAAAAAMLg/Rer58l6_GxEobOMMvgZ-LOQOka8ZwMfTgCLcBGAs/s400/YMHW8b.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wanted to do this gif of their gala Goose. The bad ass<br />way she puts her arm behind her head, and the even<br />badder ass way she steps off without an assist.<br />You can see Scott drop the mic with his facial<br />expression (that's how I choose to read it), even if<br />it looks so easy many people just don't get it.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>More than how they execute the elements, which is superior, it's how Scott and Tessa transition into and out of them that sets them so far above every other ice dance team.<br /><br />Followed the gala on Goldenskate, then watched videos later. When P/C skated, one fan said "The GLIDE."&nbsp; They are on two feet 90% of that skate. Scott and Tessa's exhibition was lift-centric and position change-centric in lifts, yet they were on their edges far more.<br /><br />Some speculation on the boards as to who can possibly challenge PC in the next quad. (Provided VM retire, and please please please.) Well, good luck, ice dance. The reaction to them, generally and IMO, this entire competition, was a yawn outside their fan base. If they win everything from now til 2022 nobody's going to be watching. I don't know if I can stand another "actual skaters versus non-skaters" rivalry - in fact, I pretty much couldn't stand it this last go round. Maybe they'll come up with another non-skating team to go against PC's non-skating. Going by the judges, the US has made its bid in the deal room, but it probably won't be the Shibs.<br /><br />P.S. - a truly wonderful fan cam of Virtue and Moir's fd. Most fan cams flatten out the performance, but this one is visceral:<br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9rlrwVPhldE" width="640"></iframe><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com82tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-28961320367491502202018-02-23T20:55:00.000-08:002018-02-24T11:00:16.733-08:00These are their good twizzlesI'm not kidding. These are decent twizzles. If you stop motion any set of twizzles, you're going to catch small out of sync moments where one partner is slightly ahead, and it's the same here. However, essentially, when they are mid-twizzle, when you stop-play, they are at the same point in the spin.<br /><br />The trouble happens during transitions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hcUNs5mnUcE/WpDtbgANPSI/AAAAAAAAMK8/qoGwUpiVRxYJTvJuOzB0L_0FAqzGo6iBQCLcBGAs/s1600/twizzle%2Bangles%2Ba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="460" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hcUNs5mnUcE/WpDtbgANPSI/AAAAAAAAMK8/qoGwUpiVRxYJTvJuOzB0L_0FAqzGo6iBQCLcBGAs/s400/twizzle%2Bangles%2Ba.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This happens (image above) because Gabriella and Guillame's free legs are held at different angles, which is typical for them. He opens out of twizzle before she does, and clearly so, in real time. She's quick enough to catch up by the time they finish the turn, and their free legs hit the ice at the same time. However, him opening up before she does is very obvious. It's not because they're out of sync during the spins. It happens during the transition - she's behind, and it's because their angles don't match. Whoever has the issue, the other one should be matching it, but nobody bothers. Why should they.&nbsp;It's 10.0, L4 and + 3 regardless.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-znbUvMYbAkI/WpDtbqeK4kI/AAAAAAAAMK4/8iB-DCNH3PUeIi_bmAafbFHxb9qOwG97gCLcBGAs/s1600/twizzle%2Bangles%2Bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="461" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-znbUvMYbAkI/WpDtbqeK4kI/AAAAAAAAMK4/8iB-DCNH3PUeIi_bmAafbFHxb9qOwG97gCLcBGAs/s400/twizzle%2Bangles%2Bb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">OK, this is a little obvious, but only if you look.<br />They really do match most of the time<br />when they're spinning (in this performance). By "match"&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">I mean&nbsp;where they are in the rotation, not how they align their<br />bodies. Because that never happens. She's got her way,<br />he's got his way, but as long as they're both limpid and<br />relaxed, who cares.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zNCt-7XbwjA/WpDtbvr4VfI/AAAAAAAAMLA/pj2u4juvk6ESmd70O6iT4r2euMU5QFqhgCLcBGAs/s1600/twizzle%2Bangles%2Bc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="468" height="222" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zNCt-7XbwjA/WpDtbvr4VfI/AAAAAAAAMLA/pj2u4juvk6ESmd70O6iT4r2euMU5QFqhgCLcBGAs/s400/twizzle%2Bangles%2Bc.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even some of their fans are calling on them to do<br />a different sort of program, as if they have genius <br />versatility&nbsp;they've been holding out on us. But I <br />really don't care.&nbsp;I just want them to quit this shit. <br />This is their&nbsp;go to move. I think it's over 50% of their<br />choreography. Squat, squat, squat (which is, of course,<br />a two-footed move. But they are two-footed "skaters")</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uQ68M9O5CLA/WpDtb4_930I/AAAAAAAAMLE/qAKtl5sFWaorzzHnDyIDmu7NHcViO9ZggCLcBGAs/s1600/twizzle%2Bangles%2Bd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="452" height="222" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uQ68M9O5CLA/WpDtb4_930I/AAAAAAAAMLE/qAKtl5sFWaorzzHnDyIDmu7NHcViO9ZggCLcBGAs/s400/twizzle%2Bangles%2Bd.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ok, look at the angle of her working blade look at his.<br />Look at her arms, look at his. Look at her free leg, look at his.<br />Look at his carriage, look at hers. No wonder they're<br />extolled for their unison. (And not to mention, what</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">magnificent deep edges from both, am I right?)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DehF7tpQiog/WpDtcWSi9SI/AAAAAAAAMLI/9G3V8LqYWHUbF783jxVpMcizGIfeYiipACLcBGAs/s1600/twizzle%2Bangles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="453" height="227" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DehF7tpQiog/WpDtcWSi9SI/AAAAAAAAMLI/9G3V8LqYWHUbF783jxVpMcizGIfeYiipACLcBGAs/s400/twizzle%2Bangles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">More twizzling. Here's what happens. He<br />obviously catches his foot before she does.<br />She doesn't catch her foot until she's rotated, so she <br />pre-rotates&nbsp;this twizzle, not adding the feature until <br />she's half rotated,&nbsp;but who's paying attention, right? These <br />are their&nbsp;good twizzles. If VM had done these, it would <br />have been&nbsp;yellow boxes for days. As I said, once they're<br />spinning in this particular performance, they are as in&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">sync as any other good team executing&nbsp;a strong twizzle&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">pass, and she usually gets where she&nbsp;needs to be when the&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">twizzle is underway, and when it ends. But transitioning?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">This keeps happening. But it's them, so&nbsp;let them set a WR.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>A squat, plie or crouch also, of course, lowers the center of balance, and center of gravity, and the very wide foot stance makes their gravitational centers enormous, which everyone knows is a defining attribute of quality skating skills and top notch athleticism. It's a favorite stance of the supposedly sublime Cizeron. He loves to go low.<br /><br />It pretty much takes any high level skill out of the equation, particularly using an inside edge, as they both do in the image further up. I once saw a grandfather on a train instructing his small granddaughter to plant her feet far apart when she wanted to stand.<br /><br />Just looking at this performance called to mind Madison Hubbell saying that Virtue and Moir make "lots of little bobbles." Jesus, gaslighting is just a way of life these days, I guess, because her French friends have made a whole bunch of little bobbles their calling card.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-60023407185981498552018-02-21T07:46:00.002-08:002018-02-21T14:27:24.537-08:00Didn't you have a reality show?Inserting this here:&nbsp;<a href="https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/virtue-and-moir-on-top-of-the-world/" target="_blank">Beverly Smith breaks it down</a><br /><br />This is interesting, although she fawns over Cizeron, who, IMO, is as fake a skater as ever faked (stroke stroke SQUAT. Stroke Stroke GET LOW. Stroke Stroke - TWIZZLE, then do something other than change direction or use your blades to arrest momentum. If he can change direction using his blades without some external support or non-skating assist, I haven't seen it). She doesn't address that not only do P/C's extensions not match, their angles don't match. She sees them as limited, though, and Virtue and Moir as superior, and seems to find P/C inferior mostly due to Papadakis not matching Cizeron.<br /><br />BUT, then she goes deeper, and reports where the judges placed the rest of the field. It's a tire fire. One judge places a team third, the other places them ninth. It is like this all over the field, not just with placements, but GOE. Are judges even trained anymore, or is it out in the open that the skating is irrelevant when it's all about deal making? It seems to me that the belief the judges get together and review anyone who scores far outside the rest of the panel is myth. Everybody is doing what they want outside the podium, there is no standard, there's nothing.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BlZlu6FtRtw/Wo2SmaQy4lI/AAAAAAAAMKo/KYQmz3chz7EenrC67rVDB0swYofvinTaQCLcBGAs/s1600/twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="771" height="260" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BlZlu6FtRtw/Wo2SmaQy4lI/AAAAAAAAMKo/KYQmz3chz7EenrC67rVDB0swYofvinTaQCLcBGAs/s400/twitter.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh huh.</td></tr></tbody></table>One of the most characteristic facets of Scott and Tessa's endless are they or aren't they games with the media is how they just whisk their own elaborate webs of bullshit straight to the curb whenever they feel like it. It's so rude. They spend all this effort ordering fans to buy into their latest re-written crap version of their history or relationship; while fans work overtime letting them know: "Yes, we believe you. That's such a great story." Virtue and Moir address "fan suspicions" that they're together, when these suspicions are, objectively, invisible outside one solitary, insane corner of a google blogspot, and most fans tsk tsk and decry the few crazy fans that make the rest of them look bad.<br /><br />Why are they taking a niche blog run by a crazy person as representative of the fan base? If I were a regular fan on the forums, I'd be insulted. I actually believe Virtue Moir/their media buddies would pretend fans doubt them even if this blog weren't around, but it sure is convenient for everyone that it is.<br /><br />Did I imagine they did a 2014 reality show that Scott insisted was a documentary,? Why is he sitting there at a press conference acting like he and Tessa have kept their personal lives in a vault this whole time.<br /><br />Where is the media getting the idea that fans think they're together when all fans deny they're together, and why is Scott saying he and Tessa might be able to open up their private lives if they retire, when we all saw him having his post-coital coffee at Cassandra's house, and when he told the world he was bringing two condoms to Sochi?<br /><br />I think they're getting it from Scott and Tessa, who, despite their denials, obviously want fans to think they're together. They can climb down from the cross about it any time now.<br /><br />Finally, please please please Scott and Tessa, RETIRE. Just for me. I don't care if you "open it up a little bit" or not. I don't care if you remain official platonic best friends for the rest of your lives. I just can't handle 2022 when it's gonna be Papadakis &amp; Cizeron's "turn" to win gold even when you blow them out of the arena. Alternatively, I can't handle watching Tiffany Zahorski and Jonathan Guerreiro (13th place ice dance finishers in Pyeongchang) crowned world champions in 2019 after a year in Gadbois unearths the world's most superior skating skills that were heretofore invisible to the judges until Marie-France discovered how to package them. This is the first time in nearly a year I can visit my own blog w/out getting agita. Yet even though they won, I still get nauseous watching that brilliant Olympic free skate come in second to Papadakis Cizeron's load of crap - in fucking TES. I love that they won gold but the feeling is relief. It would be more joyous if the scoring weren't as sour grapes as it gets.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com223tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-57735545485322258072018-02-20T19:05:00.002-08:002018-02-20T19:17:11.834-08:00<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hjyIHbdBLAU?ecver=1" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />She's enjoying herself. She's loving every second out there. I never even knew Madison Chock liked to figure skate. Who could tell?<br /><br />What a shame that of all their programs, this one that is actually semi-warm blooded literally crashed at the Olympics.<br /><br />I've always hated both Chock and Bates' skating and their aggressively frozen performance mode. Enough with the face skating. However, Madison's face after her and Evans' fall had a quality to it that was more than sorrow - there was a naturalness to it I hadn't seen in her since her previous partnership. So I went to watch a clean version of "Imagine". Cup of China.<br /><br />It *is* their best program since they teamed up, a direction they should have taken ages ago, instead of the S&amp;M-y, dominatrix-y, we're-so-humorlessly-sexy stuff it seems they did over and over. That hard as nails shit made such an impression it feels as if that's all they ever did, although that can't be true.<br /><br />Madison spends more time off her feet than I think should be permitted in ice dance, but it's the most fluid skating, and the most actual skating - well, at least the most fluid movement - &nbsp;they've done in forever. And what a relief not to watch Evan try to be hot.<br /><br />What strikes me most is how into it she is, how much apparent joy she is taking in simply moving to that music. Every part of her body is animated to the very end of her extension with a natural flowing, confident energy. Apparently the real her was locked inside Drama Chock all this time. Why didn't they break out of it until now? Most teams make some type of contribution, have an input into their programs. I am guessing they knew they were more of a manufactured Davis White type of deal versus exceptional talents, so they went hard - so to speak - into packaging, just as Davis White did.<br /><br />Noticed this also:<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xlLfiMq4s0/WozgcHgMZ-I/AAAAAAAAMKY/tvUuoXPfzNwBG7k3IOo9bMF_dWRESbtBACLcBGAs/s1600/My_Movie.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="692" height="179" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xlLfiMq4s0/WozgcHgMZ-I/AAAAAAAAMKY/tvUuoXPfzNwBG7k3IOo9bMF_dWRESbtBACLcBGAs/s320/My_Movie.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is familiar. Not as high scoring as<br />the L4, dumbed down, four-handed<br />clutch job we see from the French however.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I never thought I'd ever use Chock Bates as the positive example in a comparison.<br /><br />Side thoughts: if VM's return put any kind of glitch into the Kaitlyn Weaver/Tessa Virtue bff-ness, it certainly turned out to be irrelevant.<br /><br />Have I missed where Papadakis and Cizeron praise VM's skating, their&nbsp;skills, their musicality? Or is it mostly lip service to their resume and competitive drive? I'm just curious if we've got another one way street situation where Virtue Moir prop up their inferior competition, loading them up with praise, while the competition is like, "They're very nice people. Tessa is so stylish."<br /><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-45546191929603798862018-02-19T20:30:00.001-08:002018-02-20T16:44:31.806-08:00Thank GodETA<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oIxdatS40Zg/Wou2bMZuYTI/AAAAAAAAMJ8/yy_rnv8dSVsjOWdewopsFXzq_hAhcscNwCLcBGAs/s1600/medal%2Bceremony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="301" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oIxdatS40Zg/Wou2bMZuYTI/AAAAAAAAMJ8/yy_rnv8dSVsjOWdewopsFXzq_hAhcscNwCLcBGAs/s400/medal%2Bceremony.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I enjoyed Scott Hamilton, Leslie Jones,</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">and Adam Rippon commentary&nbsp;on the heat in the</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">VM SD. "Are they dating?! Cause you have to</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">have&nbsp;kissed at least once to do that!'</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Hamilton. "I don't knooooooooow."</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">He knows.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The score for the French was obscene.<br /><br />The French were indifferent in the free, and worse in the short. Scott and Tessa had to spike the ball, and I think the crowd helped.<br /><br />Thank fucking God. Two gold medals, one short of what they deserve. A fake epic battle. Well, a fake epic SKATING battle. A battle where they had zero room for error (despite Madison Hubbell's bullshit) and the French just had to stay standing to get scores a razor's margin from perfect. Virtue Moir cleared the hurdle. I can't even express how important it is, how huge it is, in my heart, and for me, for them to have two golds. I mean, obviously, every VM fan and true skating fan out there feels the same.&nbsp; They should have more, but I'll take it. 20 and 22, gold medal. 28 and 30, gold medal. That'll do it. Should be three.<br /><br />I can't quite believe it, but they're clutch. At least this time it was possible for them to win, no matter how absurd the standard. A tiny difference between 2018 and 2014, in view of the revolting double standards, but at least the possibility existed, where there was no possibility in 2014. VM, if you are beyond the beyond, we will give you the opportunity to defeat a French team with indifferent skating skills, a French team with careless bodies that are indifferent to what's happening at blade level, even though we'll call that talent.<br /><br />Congrats too to the Shibs. I had extra incentive to root for them after reading about Madison Hubbell's verbal antics (also didn't want Gadbois to sweep).<br /><br />My twitter timeline is trending with both Virtue Moir and ShibSibs. I don't do a lot of searching or hashtag following for either, so I'll take it as genuine. I don't see Papadakis Cizeron there at all. Every four years, the civilians can tell who deserves it.<br /><br />PS&nbsp; - good for VM for going back to the old lift. Bullshit is bullshit, and I'm glad they thumbed their nose at the pandering.<br /><br />Still absolutely insane that P/C had such a mess of an Olympics and still won the free. This sport needs to be booted out of the Olympics - it's not a sport.<br /><br />I must say, the faces on Papadakis Cizeron got on my nerves. Dudes, you don't deserve to be anywhere near the medal ceremony. At least I always thought Davis White understood that. Sure, they wanked it that "hard work", all the effort friends, family, country, blah blah blah put into things worked to kind of make them justify it, but I always got the idea that Charlie, at least, understood it was not about who skated the best. So P/C - suck it up. VM are&nbsp;leagues better than you are. Have a little shame.<br /><br />Finally, it's nice to see Tessa's face. Part of me wonders if her face and eyes during Sochi isn't why they were here. She's as well bred as they come, but she knew they were fucked over in Sochi, and maybe it's harder for her to swallow than Scott. Scott was probably not feeling the greatest in Sochi either, but during the medal ceremony and elsewhere he was dialed in to the expression in her eyes and seemingly distracting her to the utmost. Here, I didn't get the "OMG, we won the Olympics!" vibe we saw in Vancouver. It was much more subdued. I often think winning is like that - real winning, when you deserve to win, or are a megaton better than your rivals. It's what's supposed to happen. It feels natural. Things are right. No need to punch out walls or jump through the rafters. The real problem is when you deserve to win, and don't. It rankles. I feel Tessa has always felt it. If she fucked up, she'd be the first to think she didn't deserve it, even if someone else's skate was inferior in the fundamentals. However, she's not an idiot, and she knows if she and Scott skate their best, they're better than everyone else and should win. So since 2014 she hasn't felt right. Now she feels right.<br /><br />So do I.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-28955372919178900772018-02-18T13:04:00.003-08:002018-02-19T20:38:30.378-08:00Epic Crap from PJ KwongETA:<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_583770190"><br /></a><a href="https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/965657056354144256" target="_blank">PCs fucked up twizzles</a><br /><br />Gif of P/C's truly hot mess twizzles. This is not glitchy, not need a discerning eye, this is fucked up the element. +3s.<br /><br /><br />I have a pit in my stomach, and not that "secretly know it will all come right in the end but don't want to jinx it" kind.<br /><br />Read this this morning from PJ Kwong<br /><br /><a href="https://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/virtue-and-moir-face-epic-ice-dance-battle.html" target="_blank">Garbage</a><br /><br />Excerpt:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YU5EK_wNnOU/Wonn9owfaxI/AAAAAAAAMJU/J6a1JqZETooq5PEZxFf_TxvxCZuOWEtYACLcBGAs/s1600/kwong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="861" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YU5EK_wNnOU/Wonn9owfaxI/AAAAAAAAMJU/J6a1JqZETooq5PEZxFf_TxvxCZuOWEtYACLcBGAs/s640/kwong.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mother of God.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So far:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gV_6bMDPoc/WonoJB7GObI/AAAAAAAAMJY/xXBesusYnJgsX1X9X7akKh9OGopxT3uUACLcBGAs/s1600/bruno%2Bmassot.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="540" height="185" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_gV_6bMDPoc/WonoJB7GObI/AAAAAAAAMJY/xXBesusYnJgsX1X9X7akKh9OGopxT3uUACLcBGAs/s400/bruno%2Bmassot.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was very nice.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sui Han and Tarasova Morasov&nbsp;were more than capable of blowing their long programs. The miracle is Savchenko/Massot skating clean and racking up enough points to catch up.&nbsp; Fourth to gold doesn't happen often. Savchenko seems to me to be a better "pure" skater now than she was before. She has more speed, more run of blade on her throw landings.&nbsp; More true&nbsp;difficulty in the lifts, more flow in and out, even if the final lift was glacial. And, putting in a word for Bruno Massot - he's about as stiff in the torso as many other male pairs skaters, but he's more than the warm body escorting her through these Olympics. He does not pop up when he throws her, for one. While not quite sustaining a Grinkov-esque&nbsp;glide, he is a very strong skater and pairs man.<br /><br />And of course have to put in a word for Meghan Duhamel who has really shown her maturity, decency and humanity in a big way.<br /><br />This guy:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QGDO5bN6BwQ/WonpxU8xi3I/AAAAAAAAMJo/ptS91PXJv-cuAslq2320DDqRxmEDLP2ugCLcBGAs/s1600/chan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QGDO5bN6BwQ/WonpxU8xi3I/AAAAAAAAMJo/ptS91PXJv-cuAslq2320DDqRxmEDLP2ugCLcBGAs/s400/chan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Did not want to win Olympic gold. He didn't choke<br />For two Olympic cycles he has been an epic<br />instance of willful, maybe even conscious, self-sabotage.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-59964397650566234862018-02-12T09:05:00.000-08:002018-02-12T09:05:05.328-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BKgJsuBjH4s/WoHGvs14UbI/AAAAAAAAMJE/gAxSn3g21fARRwB29j_WAZdA_NEr1TdOACLcBGAs/s1600/team%2Bgold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="284" height="249" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BKgJsuBjH4s/WoHGvs14UbI/AAAAAAAAMJE/gAxSn3g21fARRwB29j_WAZdA_NEr1TdOACLcBGAs/s400/team%2Bgold.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />So this time around VM's presumptive biggest rivals weren't in the team competition, so we're left to understand Virtue and Moir are a bit lacking in the tech department, since they're getting docked for imaginary missed key points and nonexistent edge imprecision. That will really be the ultimate planned humiliation - to pretend Gabriella Doesn't-Even Bother-To-Care-About-Steps-And-Footwork Papadakis is more precise on pattern dances, chocktaws and footwork than Tessa Virtue. We know it's coming.<br /><br />The team win and Virtue and Moir's placement is pointless absent the French, since we can't see if the tech controller scrupulousness over invented edge placement issues in VM will be extended to scrupulousness over the standard slop presented by the French, or if we're going to see ceiling shattering "That's how it's done!" scoring in TES. It would figure, though. Davis White were defeating Virtue &amp; Moir in pcs while the public relations were telling us Virtue and Moir were struggling technically. If Papadakis &amp; Cizeron win, the media relations will say their ineffable, undefinable, ethereal floaty magic carried the day, while a scan of the protocols will reveal that the judges decided one of the sloppiest teams ever to stand on a podium were technically more precise than the greatest technical skaters to ever step onto a rink.<br /><br />I wonder if we'll ever get instant replay on a key point or choctaw transition. Nobody's gotten around to it - wonder why.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-33218408009574207932018-02-10T18:30:00.003-08:002018-02-10T18:56:26.049-08:00I was white knuckling it through the start of the team event in figure skating, not having seen that Papadakis &amp; Cizeron decided to give it a miss. So we don't know if the tech caller who decided Virtue and Moir's pattern was L2 would have rated P/C's unmatched, shallow edges, broken lines and sloppy transitions a 3 - or 4. Why not just go for broke.<br /><br />It's very difficult to read the tea leaves when VM's nearest competitors are ice dance's other punching bags, the Shibutanis.<br /><br />P.S. re skating forums - describing a tech caller as "strict" or "brutal" suggests exacting standards, no benefit of the doubt. I think many fans don't understand that there actually needs to be something to be exact about for the "strictness" to be justified. Without that, "strict" isn't the word for what's happening.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-33650392624325379012018-01-31T18:01:00.000-08:002018-01-31T18:03:00.337-08:00There are usually about six subjects* I avoid on social media or the news, and figure skating has started to become one of them:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5JEh1y-6KxM/WnJnne0wFII/AAAAAAAAMH8/Q4OvcWlSqOMor-OyqgCCpulhPsYB3Id0ACLcBGAs/s1600/yg3KJ_s-200x150.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5JEh1y-6KxM/WnJnne0wFII/AAAAAAAAMH8/Q4OvcWlSqOMor-OyqgCCpulhPsYB3Id0ACLcBGAs/s400/yg3KJ_s-200x150.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A recurring gif on my twitter timeline.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Applies to so much stuff.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Last month I was on a political blog, squinting and skimming so as to avoid certain key words, when one participant mentioned he was taking a break by watching figure skating. I knew this meant the Grand Prix Final, and as mentioned in last month's post, I knew it would turn out the way it did for VM, and didn't watch. It's not that VM had a rougher skate than usual, although, along with the Shibs, more is expected of them just to stay in contention for the podium than is expected of Papadakis Cizeron, who are only subject to the "don't fall down" requirement. Hell, more is expected of juniors.<br /><br />It's the Papadakis Cizeron scoring I can't tolerate. The widespread promotion of all things gaslighting has taken its toll, and Papadakis Cizeron are the proverbial bridge too far for me this year. It's only skating. Who needs it.<br /><br />I didn't even enjoy Virtue and Moir's new ending in their Nationals free dance:<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XSxypHLvX-w/WnJqNvr18dI/AAAAAAAAMIA/5g0pKMPri_8C1l0Sc-ToQdUbsVulhrtIQCLcBGAs/s1600/Rotational%2B%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XSxypHLvX-w/WnJqNvr18dI/AAAAAAAAMIA/5g0pKMPri_8C1l0Sc-ToQdUbsVulhrtIQCLcBGAs/s400/Rotational%2B%25281%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, not as much. They're splitting the difference. She's kind<br />of playing dead with her character up there, but if you<br />want to overlook it, you can. Then she gets out of it and<br />they emerge from the program as themselves. Oh my God,<br />what an improvement. That quiet, nuanced ending<br />they had before - that sort&nbsp;of thing has no place in ice dance.&nbsp;</span></td></tr></tbody></table>And I was not expecting this:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsRlRGFbJVg/WnJr2BOM-5I/AAAAAAAAMII/5KjwCosX04kV5wmj3pHvEbQeesG83ioOACLcBGAs/s1600/Dylan%2Band%2BLubov%2527s%2Bseason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="500" height="306" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsRlRGFbJVg/WnJr2BOM-5I/AAAAAAAAMII/5KjwCosX04kV5wmj3pHvEbQeesG83ioOACLcBGAs/s400/Dylan%2Band%2BLubov%2527s%2Bseason.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Iliushechnika and Moscovitch. How it Ended.<br /><br />I guess an entire glass door fell on Dylan? It didn't miss<br />any part of his important pairs equipment.<br />His hands. His back. His knees.<br />MTM V.2&nbsp;go to the Olympics. <br />Whatever happened to schadendfreude?</span></td></tr></tbody></table>What is this era called? The neverending winning streak of things that suck? I don't even have anything against MTM V.2. That's too small a thing to matter.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a>I don't think my recent lack of tolerance for a whole bunch of stuff in the public realm has to do with overloading, but rather with apparent futility.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-on62Fkk4JCk/WnJu53epJCI/AAAAAAAAMIQ/dl6sQlv1yoY0XjYBb0uNku4P-KSBeCQNgCLcBGAs/s1600/Hubbell%2BDonohoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="620" height="306" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-on62Fkk4JCk/WnJu53epJCI/AAAAAAAAMIQ/dl6sQlv1yoY0XjYBb0uNku4P-KSBeCQNgCLcBGAs/s400/Hubbell%2BDonohoe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm not mad at them. Happy for their fans and for them. At least <br />they and their fans care&nbsp; about the skating part of skating,<br />and they had a beautiful performance.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Still, I wonder what it takes for an American figure skater to get in so good with the USFSA that they'll score your nearest competitors (who are actually better than you) 20 points lower just to enhance your reputation after another meh skate (Davis White/Shibs), kick you off the Olympic team even though you defeated your nearest rival and have delivered internationally (Mirai Nagasu / Ashley Wagner). What have the Shibs done wrong? Not spread the (literal) wealth? Kept their lips to themselves and off highly placed asses?<br /><br />The USFSA had no problem spreading the wealth - the Shibs win the short, Chock &amp; Bates get scored so they are first in the long, and HD win the event. That's some craven CYA right there.<br /><br />The micro-expressions. :(&nbsp; My Shibs:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q95yPAcB_6U/WnJwIoVkC-I/AAAAAAAAMIU/aZOw-GcBd5MfjQrwfXtJg5oY_hEs-WarQCLcBGAs/s1600/Shibs%2Bmedal%2Bceremony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q95yPAcB_6U/WnJwIoVkC-I/AAAAAAAAMIU/aZOw-GcBd5MfjQrwfXtJg5oY_hEs-WarQCLcBGAs/s320/Shibs%2Bmedal%2Bceremony.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAXoGUmpBfk/WnJwN5ZRBeI/AAAAAAAAMIY/IEAsswwZaeUqU3-oXTBAmZljhXiDet2mACLcBGAs/s1600/shibutanis%2Bmedal%2Bceremony%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="593" height="282" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAXoGUmpBfk/WnJwN5ZRBeI/AAAAAAAAMIY/IEAsswwZaeUqU3-oXTBAmZljhXiDet2mACLcBGAs/s320/shibutanis%2Bmedal%2Bceremony%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Finally:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xx3Y2YBGILk/WnJxrg1OXMI/AAAAAAAAMIc/4YXVI-ZxyM4vDGbHk5p63pBDbjNmYY08wCLcBGAs/s1600/ladies%2Bpodium%2B-%2Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1130" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xx3Y2YBGILk/WnJxrg1OXMI/AAAAAAAAMIc/4YXVI-ZxyM4vDGbHk5p63pBDbjNmYY08wCLcBGAs/s320/ladies%2Bpodium%2B-%2Bus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some&nbsp;schedenfreude right there.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>What is this, Nagasu's third Olympic cycle? Keeping her off the team last time certainly paid dividends.<br /><br />I am just curious as to why someone like Gracie Gold - big athletic ability but not nearly as good a natural skater as Nagasu - got the full force of the USFSA and its resources behind her for so long despite being more erratic than Nagasu ever managed.&nbsp; Well, I'm not truly curious, and neither Wagner nor Gold are shit, but, speaking generally, the whole narrative does fall into the "let's depress and dismiss anything with inherent quality while promoting a lot of bullshit." Bullshit has always been around, but I feel the shitting on good stuff and pretending it sucks it new, and not just with Virtue Moir. In fact, they were sort of the canary in the coal mine and ahead of their time when it comes to the experience of being the best and then along comes something terrible and let's pretend it and the best are neck and neck.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-19640902485963893962017-12-31T12:47:00.002-08:002017-12-31T12:47:57.614-08:00I knew it would happen and did not have the stomachI've spent a lot of the past couple of months obsessed with politics, appalled at most of the media and disgusted by some politicians I'd previously respected.<br /><br />I didn't have the strength to check in on the GPF and discover that the ISU allowed ANOTHER team to defeat VM. Bad enough they went back and forth w/Davis White, but a second team is obscene. Another team with dumbed down skating and an aggressively ignorant fan following is showered w/10s while VM fans shrink from community discussion.<br /><br />I knew it was going to happen, just went completely derelict on the blog because it was going to be that ONE THING that broke the camel's back.&nbsp; I mean, not really, I'm fine, but enough already.<br /><br />VM were imperfect (you know, that's like saying Hillary Clinton is flawed like you always have to say it about her, because all other candidates were perfect). Papadakis &amp; Cizeron skated a program that even juniors can't get away with, so they truly are exceptional. It's not as if they've shown the way. What they do applies only to them.<br /><br />Was just reading a discussion on Golden Skate in which a fan claimed that the Moulin Rouge lift is not really a lift. I just thought of Charlie White sliding Meryl's ass along the ice before swinging her by both arms, pivoting, and landing her on his back and thought - what a magnificent lift that was. Not as good a lift as jumping onto your partners unevenly balanced thighs knees first, though, while gripping his shoulders. THAT's a lift.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONer54yZCfk/WklMFopfmdI/AAAAAAAAMHs/DNho5aS4Nl8CRg50NileWLlXK3U7tAy4wCLcBGAs/s1600/GPdance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="615" height="208" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONer54yZCfk/WklMFopfmdI/AAAAAAAAMHs/DNho5aS4Nl8CRg50NileWLlXK3U7tAy4wCLcBGAs/s320/GPdance.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">If there has been a skating team that has had to<br />eat more shit than Virtue &amp; Moir, I don't know<br />who they are. I think the ISU adores being sadistic<br />and having control over a pair of talents that <br />so clearly outclass and outskate&nbsp;any other team that <br />has ever competed in this ... activity.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com86tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-13568228164831924012017-10-27T08:14:00.001-07:002017-11-01T09:35:04.123-07:00A whole article on this?I've said before that I doubt Virtue and Moir are actually being coached by Marie France Dubreuil and Patrick Lauzon. I don't think they ever have been. Even last year's programs, I&nbsp;bet&nbsp;used a mere&nbsp;veneer of Dubreuil-esque flourishes&nbsp;while Virtue and Moir&nbsp;got their&nbsp;real coaching somewhere else.&nbsp;They're beyond Dubreuil Lauzon, technically and in every other respect. They've worked with and trained with the best in the world,&nbsp;and while there are excellent coaches who never became&nbsp;World or Olympic champions themselves, Dubreuil Lauzon are not among them.&nbsp;DL's signature team is Papadakis Cizeron. We can see how resourceful <em>that </em>choreography is, not to mention technically pristine.* Virtue and Moir are&nbsp;out of Dubreuil Lauzon's league, and if Papadakis Cizeron skated exactly as they skate now but didn't move to Gadbois, they'd have stayed in thirteenth place. Gadbois results aren't due to superior skating. It's&nbsp;just payola.<br /><br />Here's a whole article out about Brian Orser kind of sub-coaching for Virtue Moir for three hours while D/L were delayed. Virtue and Moir don't need Brian Freaking Orser watching over their warm-up jackets and skate guards&nbsp;at this stage of their career and abilities. Not for a single practice session at Skate Freaking Canada. There are a million stand-ins who could do board duty. <br /><br /><a href="https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">OrserCoachesVM</a><br /><br />I'd love to know how the money for this charade is structured. Dubreuil Lauzon and Virtue Moir could be a straight quid pro quo - they enhance Gadbois's reputation by giving Gadbois the credit for fixing&nbsp;their nonexistent flaws, and in exchange for that fake news, Virtue and Moir are allowed to win.<br /><br />Virtue and Moir are absolutely stunning in the Skate Canada practice videos.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oyE1RbR9EYk" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />They're thrilling to watch, but it also makes me a little sick to my stomach. A bit later I'll do Virtue Moir's free dance rotational versus Gabriella sitting on Guillaume like a he's teacup in an Ages 3-7 amusement park ride,&nbsp;while we all know that the judges are going to treat both elements as if they're equal in quality and oh so close in execution. I know this, and yet it's hard to keep down.<br /><br />Also, Weaver &amp; Poje go back to a 2012 free dance.<br /><br /><a href="https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/2017/10/26/weaver-and-poje-je-suis-malade/" target="_blank">Je suis triste de Je Suis Malade</a><br /><br />Blech. Bunched fists of drama from Kaitlyn, lots of face skating. Hated that program.<br /><br />Beverly Smith has dumbed down her writing incredibly. <span lang="fr">Je suis malade à ce sujet aussi.</span><br /><br /><br />*Sarcasm.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-19318946922269901502017-10-22T14:41:00.000-07:002017-10-23T19:25:26.950-07:00Putting these up as a placeholder. Delayed due to a series of travel meltdowns that started Friday night. Everything is finally squared away, and I'll fill this post in later.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NArM7glzCMg" width="1280"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e492TwFaeS4" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><br />I'm already aware that their rumba pattern doesn't cover the ice with the power and speed of Virtue and Moir - but whose does, and their rumba pattern still does show power and speed. They're skating closer together with even cleaner unison than before. I'm just choking on the necessity of pointing out once again that P/C suck and yet on fan forums and in the judges' scoring will be proclaimed technically superior as well as the better performers.<br /><br />I hate hate hate hate the rest stop in the step sequence, no matter how brilliantly Virtue and Moir manage it (with nobody noticing). Look how Tessa arrests her momentum on a dime and nails that attitude pose every time. They figure out how to brilliant it up so they don't lower themselves to the level of pathetic, but how much dumber is ice dance going to get?<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T5H9CcWBO6Y/We0vymXY1eI/AAAAAAAAMGs/VTA6pWpOTlEXFsIrICbhhp_CiJqooAe9QCLcBGAs/s1600/Shibs_FD_lift.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T5H9CcWBO6Y/We0vymXY1eI/AAAAAAAAMGs/VTA6pWpOTlEXFsIrICbhhp_CiJqooAe9QCLcBGAs/s400/Shibs_FD_lift.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Look ma, no hands (very nearly).&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">A 2-footed stationery lift I can get behind.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I'm glad this apples to apples lift exists. Try to see the difference, ice dance. Or better to say, try to acknowledge the difference, ice dance, as the sport already knows and understands the difference, but has decided not to credit it.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zRFMNcJhDe4/WdQ-uj85T6I/AAAAAAAAKDE/hdpnbq7thdwiW7AzpDkj0bVBlLsv2a_kwCLcBGAs/s1600/straight_line.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zRFMNcJhDe4/WdQ-uj85T6I/AAAAAAAAKDE/hdpnbq7thdwiW7AzpDkj0bVBlLsv2a_kwCLcBGAs/s400/straight_line.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I mean, every BIT as difficult as what we've seen</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">from the other tops teams. Perhaps even more</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">because of the "magic"./s*</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Lord have mercy I think Gilles &amp; Poirier's short is better than Papadakis &amp; Cizeron's. And theirs isn't great.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FpUh-z9AKek" width="1280"></iframe><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-61880654701567071252017-10-11T11:26:00.000-07:002017-10-12T20:23:45.983-07:00No, it isn't<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_7tvawXtUcA/Wd54JJIoF5I/AAAAAAAAMGE/1G8ZP7_qthssFXPoaijMhWiIw1TvRxIoACLcBGAs/s1600/mariem.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1137" height="368" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_7tvawXtUcA/Wd54JJIoF5I/AAAAAAAAMGE/1G8ZP7_qthssFXPoaijMhWiIw1TvRxIoACLcBGAs/s640/mariem.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I know fans on skating forums hate having their screen names dragged onto this blog, but I'm using MarieM as a representative example. This kind of shit typifies a forum post. "I look at their technique and it's pristine." They just say that, no hesitation. But no, it's not top notch. You've been on a fan board for 20 years or something, and you still have no idea what top notch ice dance technique looks like. You are fine with the standards you've made up in your head, which&nbsp;are about how you understand music, and about the movement style you prefer. You've standards using no objective criteria for excellent skating, and yet you think your assessment of skating is as valid as anyone who actually knows what they're talking about.<br /><br />Anybody who deconstructed Papadakis &amp; Cizeron's skating per the standards and criteria that define superior skating skills would find flaws at every turn. <br /><br />Some other poster rhapsodized about how their arms intertwined. Well, because emphasizing the arms distracts from the distance between their bodies and their skates, not to mention the continual misalignment of their skates and their lack of unison, not just in body line but in timing.<br /><br />How is it that everybody who knows nothing about skating but loves to talk about music cuts, acting, costuming, arms and facial expressions sticks around and grows old on skating forums, but people who do know about skating disappear? I guess because the know nothing "side" is winning - not the argument, but the results. Hard to argue with those, as the saying goes, even if the results have nothing to do with what was skated. Nothing brought that home more than the scores PC got in their early outings, no matter what happens down the line. If Virtue Moir were not back in competition, PC's scores would still be simultaneously outrageous and pathetic.*<br /><br />*Was reading about an official who wants to change the&nbsp;rules, scoring,&nbsp;and the nature of the programs competed even more. He's thinking about TV ratings. Figure skating is reality TV, it's not a sport. The rules facilitate reality TV, not competition, not sport. I don't think dumbing down figure skating will make it more popular. I think the opposite will accomplish that. But you can't tell that to officials whose baseline worldview is they're smart and most people who aren't them are dumb.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-5646541584923356692017-10-07T04:15:00.002-07:002017-10-07T11:04:09.525-07:00Imagine their names aren't Papadakis & CizerontWhat would this have scored if it were, say, Gilles Poirier (who, btw, have better unison, which is not a compliment in either direction). What about those teensy choctaws?<br /><br />That's something I will try to gif later - all the choctaws we've seen so far.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5trizULJzVs/WdjA5m35wBI/AAAAAAAAL1E/MGUFi58-j8k7mv0wz_ut3IUcUlWU6SgwgCLcBGAs/s1600/Oops.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5trizULJzVs/WdjA5m35wBI/AAAAAAAAL1E/MGUFi58-j8k7mv0wz_ut3IUcUlWU6SgwgCLcBGAs/s400/Oops.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oops.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />A reminder that according to the rulebook, this thing:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1pAUbweiiA/WdjEycwWdZI/AAAAAAAAL1Q/xtYvDiUhx-EzQ_K-EkLTwFGbg1dwngJXACLcBGAs/s1600/Lift.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1pAUbweiiA/WdjEycwWdZI/AAAAAAAAL1Q/xtYvDiUhx-EzQ_K-EkLTwFGbg1dwngJXACLcBGAs/s400/Lift.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />Is every bit as difficult as this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YvvnSHa7rPw/WdjGJydiegI/AAAAAAAAL1c/mwYP7moW6rk31-mbZYuO-LwMONl9UinLQCLcBGAs/s1600/VM_SD_Lift_Latin_Dance.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YvvnSHa7rPw/WdjGJydiegI/AAAAAAAAL1c/mwYP7moW6rk31-mbZYuO-LwMONl9UinLQCLcBGAs/s400/VM_SD_Lift_Latin_Dance.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />Screen caps:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wb8tD1uDyrw/WdjGU6V8JdI/AAAAAAAAL1o/kYXyaPObRZUaBWmBhisTr8epTJtrfdCbQCLcBGAs/s1600/choctaw2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="409" height="191" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wb8tD1uDyrw/WdjGU6V8JdI/AAAAAAAAL1o/kYXyaPObRZUaBWmBhisTr8epTJtrfdCbQCLcBGAs/s320/choctaw2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qdwyvcQH64g/WdjGUxPXeRI/AAAAAAAAL1g/m1Upw-jtz2s13WBxeT4MZlY2cwlEoLcKQCLcBGAs/s1600/choctaw3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="322" height="256" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qdwyvcQH64g/WdjGUxPXeRI/AAAAAAAAL1g/m1Upw-jtz2s13WBxeT4MZlY2cwlEoLcKQCLcBGAs/s320/choctaw3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-slWIYRc-8Z0/WdjGUxL-4FI/AAAAAAAAL1k/LEnVWQxSWbY5yz13wf_pmYXybGtz0xcpQCLcBGAs/s1600/choctaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="397" height="196" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-slWIYRc-8Z0/WdjGUxL-4FI/AAAAAAAAL1k/LEnVWQxSWbY5yz13wf_pmYXybGtz0xcpQCLcBGAs/s320/choctaw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LFHR2TAMJSE/WdjGcLNvXNI/AAAAAAAAL1w/8W7OL9qOYlQTJROzYoiHQPZyX0NwOwUMACLcBGAs/s1600/lines2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="262" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LFHR2TAMJSE/WdjGcLNvXNI/AAAAAAAAL1w/8W7OL9qOYlQTJROzYoiHQPZyX0NwOwUMACLcBGAs/s400/lines2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hLeRNCe_JTE/WdjGcBGqVNI/AAAAAAAAL1s/MOyAahHUWdEeMzPVdkDKwuKaMUPc2qU0gCLcBGAs/s1600/lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="263" height="366" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hLeRNCe_JTE/WdjGcBGqVNI/AAAAAAAAL1s/MOyAahHUWdEeMzPVdkDKwuKaMUPc2qU0gCLcBGAs/s400/lines.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I could do this all day.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-27094817954565160222017-10-05T19:00:00.001-07:002017-10-05T19:03:09.303-07:00Swapped musicThanks to anon 2:29PM previous post for the links:<br /><br />Papadakis Cizeron Moonlight Sonata with 2016 program music.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/236866684" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/236866684">Papadakis/Cizeron - 2017/2018 fd with 2016/2017 music</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user72233934">Amy Elizabeth</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />Credit, "Amy Elizabeth" at vimeo.<br /><br />https://vimeo.com/236866684<br /><br />^Link (don't want to mess up her&nbsp; view count. Or maybe an embed here counts towards vimeo views. Hope so.).<br /><br />The reverse:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/236694787" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/236694787">Papadakis/Cizeron - 2017/2018 fd overlay</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user64968807">Amy Erskine</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br /><br /><br />Uncanny. Their skating is pretty generic, so actually almost any calm-ish lyrical-ish piece would fit any program they did, but, more than that, they have only one rhythm and one way of phrasing: dadadada <i>hold. </i>Da da da da <i>hold. </i>Da da da da <i>applause.</i>oycanadanoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-82956297266105334052017-10-03T19:03:00.000-07:002017-10-04T07:06:10.606-07:00Hardly workingThis post is for some rudimentary straightline / stationery list comparisons between Papadakis Cizeron's lift in their Moonlight Sonata free, and those done by other ice dance teams going back to 2014.<br /><br />But before I begin, the "lift" that really gets me is this:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AU5FGBg24kc/WdQ9k5nEXOI/AAAAAAAAKC8/9RT8fSzGXrkT68r88jf621YG-M1oRU-2gCLcBGAs/s1600/Curve.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AU5FGBg24kc/WdQ9k5nEXOI/AAAAAAAAKC8/9RT8fSzGXrkT68r88jf621YG-M1oRU-2gCLcBGAs/s400/Curve.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Level 4. Totally legit.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Not only is she kneeling on him, she's sitting on her own heels as well. Their centers of gravity are pasted together. She briefly lifts her arms perpendicular to his body line in the familiar "ta da" gesture of inferior ice dancers.*&nbsp; But never mind, they slop around on two feet a few times once she's out of the lift, so this is perfectly competitive with anything Virtue Moir, the Shibutanis, Hubbell &amp; Donohue, Capellini &amp; Lanotte - anyone - do/does. It's just as difficult, per the gods of skating. This is how far they've dumbed this down. This is what's happened to this "sport" in order to pretend there's actually competition.<br /><br />By the way:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-35ssk0otUYY/WdRYa4lk3dI/AAAAAAAAKDo/yUh-Fz31iMMGaoALu8zCDeJOShXGZDqnQCLcBGAs/s1600/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-35ssk0otUYY/WdRYa4lk3dI/AAAAAAAAKDo/yUh-Fz31iMMGaoALu8zCDeJOShXGZDqnQCLcBGAs/s400/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2005.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Here's some straight line lift comparisons among four&nbsp;teams executing&nbsp;stationery lifts of&nbsp;equal&nbsp;difficulty.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gko-s0ZAn4Y/WdQ_ClA5a9I/AAAAAAAAKDI/K16SMA-omuk46GjgcTZAuzqEViNR8ahdwCLcBGAs/s1600/VM.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gko-s0ZAn4Y/WdQ_ClA5a9I/AAAAAAAAKDI/K16SMA-omuk46GjgcTZAuzqEViNR8ahdwCLcBGAs/s400/VM.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">VM Canadian National Championships 2014</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />How vulgar to do so much. How vulgar to make this spectacle of one's abilities. Virtue and Moir merely skate. Papadakis Cizeron <i>danse</i>.<br /><br />I mean even these two:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QIg3cJ-HBKo/WdRAQReBdyI/AAAAAAAAKDQ/W1hVQAcbvJwX5GngJCbX5bXzV4wwZ-P1ACLcBGAs/s1600/WP.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QIg3cJ-HBKo/WdRAQReBdyI/AAAAAAAAKDQ/W1hVQAcbvJwX5GngJCbX5bXzV4wwZ-P1ACLcBGAs/s400/WP.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">He's trying. She's trying. They're not "We can't do<br />it so let's not try. Let's instead say what we do is better, without</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">ever saying what it is we're actually doing."</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Shibs:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YHhMPllVsM4/WdRAw8qsrQI/AAAAAAAAKDY/ykfq6Su-GXIJGUEtyyQ_GnI_lmiW7u2NgCLcBGAs/s1600/shibs.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YHhMPllVsM4/WdRAw8qsrQI/AAAAAAAAKDY/ykfq6Su-GXIJGUEtyyQ_GnI_lmiW7u2NgCLcBGAs/s400/shibs.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2015. The wait for their new programs is killing me.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zRFMNcJhDe4/WdQ-uj85T6I/AAAAAAAAKDE/hdpnbq7thdwiW7AzpDkj0bVBlLsv2a_kwCLcBGAs/s1600/straight_line.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zRFMNcJhDe4/WdQ-uj85T6I/AAAAAAAAKDE/hdpnbq7thdwiW7AzpDkj0bVBlLsv2a_kwCLcBGAs/s400/straight_line.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">circa 2015 levels of strain and awkward, but the</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">far apart, rudimentary "holds" and empty skating parts</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">notwithstanding, this isn't pairs, so it's ok. It's Danse.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table>Oh, let's just take a look at the Canadian juniors anon 4:05PM brought to our attention in the comments section of the post below:<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3oLvCQbmew8/WdRdIo4SN0I/AAAAAAAAKEI/u4wGnWZnd8YeGlEFQz9he-sS7DEx8HPegCLcBGAs/s1600/ezgif.com-video-to-gif%2B%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3oLvCQbmew8/WdRdIo4SN0I/AAAAAAAAKEI/u4wGnWZnd8YeGlEFQz9he-sS7DEx8HPegCLcBGAs/s400/ezgif.com-video-to-gif%2B%25281%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Olivia McIsaac / Elliott Graham FD<br />2017 Ontario Summer Junior</span></td></tr></tbody></table>At this stage I think ice dance should just come full circle and&nbsp;return to compulsories. Not compulsory dances or pattern dances, but something like the compulsories singles skaters did in the 1980s and before. A sort of pre-competition to get the skating part of this discipline out of the way before the glamorous bits. Teams will trace edges and patterns on the ice in front of judges who will examine the tracings and place skaters accordingly. Well, not edges and patterns, plural. AN edge. Just go out there and hold an edge for - let's say three seconds. Then all the teams go out on the ice in turn and do whatever the hell they want. They just have to do something in the "style" of figure skating, which is about what we have now - not actual skating. All the skating stuff was really unfair to the athletes who couldn't do it well, and&nbsp;unreasonable to expect from figure skaters.<br /><br />*Patented by Meryl Davis.<br /><span id="goog_1325456021"></span><span id="goog_1325456022"></span><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-90271628066542387712017-09-30T11:18:00.001-07:002017-09-30T16:58:21.565-07:00<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3zf0wLD48WM" width="1280"></iframe><br /><br /><br />Papadakis / Cizeron free dance. I want to say zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz because IMO, it is, but that's not really a credible critique. What is a valid critique is the fact that their "lifts" in this thing are rated L4. Talk about rigging the game. <br /><br />The skating is open, the holds are one sided - one of them hanging onto the other's shoulder or forearm, and the skating is slow. Unison is apparently not a priority. But at least this choreography and music has the climactic ending some think VM's fd lacks. <br /><br />Oh wait.<br /><br />Crossing fingers and every appendage I have, I do think the 2018 gold is VM's pretty much as the gold was DW's in 2014, come what may, unless one member of the team missteps, egregiously, in a way visible to the average viewer. That said, Moonlight Sonata, as choreographed here, does not accomplish very much in the way of a conventional P/C emo narrative that appeals to their most invested fans. It will be such a miscarriage of justice not only if P/C stand atop the podium, but if they're second. There is no way emotion and sensation can sweep aside skating considerations with this program enough to get away with defeating the Shibs, Hubbell Donohoe, and quite a few more. Just imagine if Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam had presented this program at any point during the period of their careers when it seemed they had a shot to break though to the top five. This would have been dismissed as weak, dull, inferior skating skills, lacking impact - the entire mash-up that passes for evaluating a competitive figure skating program. I'm retroactively offended on Paul Islam's behalf. This program is every damning with faint praise Paul Islam's critics (including their own Fed) claimed Paul Islam was, only P/C are actually all those things.<br /><br />P.S. - as to multidirectional skating, there isn't any. Not even the fake-out kind.<br /><br />P.P.S. - When Marie France talked about P/C's rise from a 15th place team one year to world champions the next, she talked about their programs and packaging. I just find that a contemptible aspect of the sport. Anyone, even the shittiest team, can deserve to be world champion if they find the right "package". The job is done in the music selection and program layout and choreography. If that's true -&nbsp; most people who comment on the sport speak as if it is - then how is it a sport? Why is it when a insta-rise like this one occurs, nobody says - they improved their speed? They acquired more powerful run of blade? Or anything having to do with skating skills? No, somehow the judges in the sport are so incompetent that world class skill - which, it seems, everyone possesses - can be completely hidden from them by the wrong program, and they only have a lightbulb moment when the correct formula is hit upon to showcase the dance team in question.<br /><br />P,P.S. For an element to be legit L4, in my opinion there should be no way to hack it so that somebody who just started Canskate might be able to do it. There should be no way that a lift is L4 with the guy skating in one line on two feet while the woman dropping from kneeling on his chest (and clutching him w/both hands), to kneeling on his stomach qualifies for the change of position feature.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com83tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-77265492876011153112017-09-23T17:45:00.001-07:002017-09-24T12:38:34.615-07:00Tessa<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7mAOTjIZgpw" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />Scott remains brilliant, but it's hard to remember back in the day when some fans thought he was the genius and she was the technician. He's wonderful, and I try very hard to watch him and just him in this free dance, but I keep going to her. The layers of detail in what she's doing, and HOW she's doing it, are breathtaking. He has gorgeous run of blade, his shoulders are more relaxed than they've ever been, but it's Tessa who is framing these programs. She has the in the bone understanding and he is her foil - in performance, not in skating. Performance includes not just the acting, but the intention behind every isolation, every beat, every transition.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-21B34HpPqrs/Wcb9o-7IhfI/AAAAAAAAJzQ/jqDgajJygTkw8qs3fD4ia7pUyGOw46_HwCLcBGAs/s1600/direction_changes.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-21B34HpPqrs/Wcb9o-7IhfI/AAAAAAAAJzQ/jqDgajJygTkw8qs3fD4ia7pUyGOw46_HwCLcBGAs/s400/direction_changes.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Direction changes, hold changes. Not<br />advertising it. How many fans even notice?<br />And the blade run, the speed.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JtRHqUpskEM/Wcb_bK3lUWI/AAAAAAAAJzc/9bU9MV34TNcv1LkT85txNr107aJ0cmrYACLcBGAs/s1600/twizzles%2B%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JtRHqUpskEM/Wcb_bK3lUWI/AAAAAAAAJzc/9bU9MV34TNcv1LkT85txNr107aJ0cmrYACLcBGAs/s400/twizzles%2B%25281%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />They switch sides during the twizzles. I don't think people notice 1/4 of what VM do, because they refuse to advertise - meaning, refuse to cue the audience. Heads up, this is hard. And what they do actually is difficult, compared to other teams who look for something "effective" that is actually made easier by the required feature.<br /><br /><br />This what Latin dance looks like.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3p1xeuwEGNs/WcgFTTxT0II/AAAAAAAAJz0/3SDGfJuuoOEEpBVcbm2ANUxzOQ8jEZ_yQCLcBGAs/s1600/samba_rolls.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3p1xeuwEGNs/WcgFTTxT0II/AAAAAAAAJz0/3SDGfJuuoOEEpBVcbm2ANUxzOQ8jEZ_yQCLcBGAs/s640/samba_rolls.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dhRApO35UV0/WcgFWrF57XI/AAAAAAAAJz4/9293g5McHssusFEDe4LgGCO5ezfbUWVCwCLcBGAs/s1600/thayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="729" height="132" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dhRApO35UV0/WcgFWrF57XI/AAAAAAAAJz4/9293g5McHssusFEDe4LgGCO5ezfbUWVCwCLcBGAs/s640/thayer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>y.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whgCJDy0iMU/WcgJZz18ZBI/AAAAAAAAJ0A/Riqer_ya7SAnX7X4zdZVO4kvCqqYMJpqwCLcBGAs/s1600/Steps.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whgCJDy0iMU/WcgJZz18ZBI/AAAAAAAAJ0A/Riqer_ya7SAnX7X4zdZVO4kvCqqYMJpqwCLcBGAs/s1600/Steps.gif" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One fan on a skate board claimed they lost the latin character<br />here.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>oycanadanoreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-67412402912578221232017-09-22T07:58:00.001-07:002017-09-22T08:00:07.952-07:00SD Practice<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dU5ftY7aVNE" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />I don't believe Marie-France had anything to do with either of VM's programs.<br /><br />I love that both programs are flashy.oycanadanoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-78433788498045264712017-09-21T13:59:00.005-07:002017-09-21T19:39:24.739-07:00<br />Putting this here for later.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aNwkTSEluPs" width="640"></iframe><br /></div><br /><br />The skating part of this gorgeous skating aside, Tessa's body articulation is extraordinary. Also, how little they need to do to effect transitions into lifts and out of them. I wonder if they'll be made to fuss it up /unnecessarily b.s. to disguise their extraordinary mastery of the mechanics,&nbsp;and I wonder&nbsp;if people who don't know what they're looking at will think how&nbsp;Virtue and Moir are&nbsp;doing things here is basic. Good luck any male ice dancer in the world besides Scott assisting his partner into a rotational lift with what looks like a flick of the wrist.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zOM1lHAUmU/WcRvNAL1-CI/AAAAAAAAJZA/GHoVXwHZpswhorfAHMyRD5YRqi2S97E9gCLcBGAs/s1600/Latin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zOM1lHAUmU/WcRvNAL1-CI/AAAAAAAAJZA/GHoVXwHZpswhorfAHMyRD5YRqi2S97E9gCLcBGAs/s1600/Latin.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh look, voluntarily using some Latin in their<br />fd. And here I'd understood from a pair of two-time<br />world champions that Latin can't be skated even<br />as a pattern dance whose vocabulary has<br />existed in ice dance since time began.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eM43oV7kAG4/WcRx4EfJRJI/AAAAAAAAJZM/OHQvvK3jGvAE5PdNKvILEvkOlS6Qao_1wCLcBGAs/s1600/choreographic_lift.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eM43oV7kAG4/WcRx4EfJRJI/AAAAAAAAJZM/OHQvvK3jGvAE5PdNKvILEvkOlS6Qao_1wCLcBGAs/s400/choreographic_lift.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNxR2b8-fJU/WcRyBUvAYhI/AAAAAAAAJZQ/bI2XSBvaRBsjwpwHedE2HU2oEzh52slZQCLcBGAs/s1600/air%2Bposition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="461" height="228" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNxR2b8-fJU/WcRyBUvAYhI/AAAAAAAAJZQ/bI2XSBvaRBsjwpwHedE2HU2oEzh52slZQCLcBGAs/s400/air%2Bposition.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Look at her.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Back when they did their</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">"reality" show, I dragged Tessa</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">pretty hard for coming across like a bot.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">But the truth is, she's not human.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Think how impossible it is for</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">any other ice dancer to do what she does,</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">and then remember that in her spare time,</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">she's had kids.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Tessa's skating and quality of movement is mesmerizing in this free. As spectacular as she's always been, there's even more softness, fluidity, power, precision, seamlessness and flow in her skating and her movement. Even down to her hands and wrists when they're on Scott's neck as she changes position. And the quiet, the power, speed, accuracy and absolute perfect mechanics of the lifts so far - not a single fail safe. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-et88Yejeevk/WcR09rGZAaI/AAAAAAAAJZc/CFVAhv5lFUsHbXkXklQbkG8CQ_2BJ92KwCLcBGAs/s1600/carmen_lift.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-et88Yejeevk/WcR09rGZAaI/AAAAAAAAJZc/CFVAhv5lFUsHbXkXklQbkG8CQ_2BJ92KwCLcBGAs/s400/carmen_lift.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X79rhEDlj9w/WcR3S1FEu9I/AAAAAAAAJZo/J9DTS5o9qvQ7BRDaDF7mKcqR_T0hrOnfQCLcBGAs/s1600/ending.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="179" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X79rhEDlj9w/WcR3S1FEu9I/AAAAAAAAJZo/J9DTS5o9qvQ7BRDaDF7mKcqR_T0hrOnfQCLcBGAs/s320/ending.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is beautiful. A million ice<br />dancers have died on the ice with a sequence<br />of collapsing into their partner's arms,<br />but Tessa isn't collapsing. Her "character"<br />is. She's not.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />oycanadanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583966972735299482.post-6329953928931893772017-09-03T19:38:00.001-07:002017-09-06T16:51:01.726-07:00Tension in ParadiseBelated remarks:<br /><br />Papadakis &amp; Cizeron haven't confirmed their music, but this interview in May* - written by someone in the style of a mythologizing syncophant - had lots of pre-emptive sour grapes:<br /><br /><i>Gabriella: Yeah, we like to skate very fast, sometimes not so much into the details, but more…)</i><br /><br />Yeah, I feel you Gabriella. And actually, many of your fans believe ice dance should not be defined and quantified. I think a divinity is meant to descend and anoint Papadakis Cizeron with gold upon the conclusion of their free skate, a la Bernie Sanders' bird.<br /><br />Both P&amp;C and some of their fans were dragged mercilessly on the interview thread, deservedly, so that's some sort of progress. Maybe some day a plurality of fans on skating forums will decide that real skating skills and rhythm should determine a competition's outcome, versus program composition / music selection, and I'll faint dead away.<br /><i><br /></i> <i>Gabriella: I’m not a big fan of Latin for skating. I love Latin dances, I love watching Latin dances, on the floor. But on the ice… I think it’s such a different dynamic in the body that cannot really be translated on the ice, so it’s always gonna look kind of… cheap…</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>Guillaume: Cliché…</i><br /><i><br /></i> Understood. They can't do it, so it's not worth doing. More ice dancers than this blog can name check have ably translated Latin dance to the ice.<br /><br /><i>Gabriella: Cheap and cliché, Latin dances on the ice. Plus, there are no much possible different choices for themes and musics. Latin music always kind of sounds the same for me, with the same kind of instruments, and rhythms and… Not like this season – you could’ve had the 20ties, the 30ties, the 40ties, the 60ties, rock ’n’ roll, hip-hop, there was so many difference choices you could have! Latin music? Iiiih, not so many! [she makes a squeaking sound, and then starts laughing]. So it’s hard to be original on these things.</i><br /><br />That's a whole lot of ignorance in one paragraph.<br /><br /><i>Guillaume: The thing about the free dance is that you get to really ice dance, and not dance on the ice. You know what I mean? And the short dance is more about dancing on the ice. All those ballroom positions don’t really fit to the ice, to the material that we have. I think it’s always gonna be a struggle, because we are ice dancers, we’re not ballroom dancers.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>And for me the short dance kind of feels like Dancing with the stars. You pick skaters, and you try to make them ballroom dancers, but it’s never gonna… Like if you wanna see Latin dance, go watch a ballroom… ball, you know? [laughing] So I think it always kind of looks cheap.</i><br /><i><br /></i> And that's a whole lot of mumbo jumbo bullshit. That's freedom defined as liberation from any sort of technical standard, when anyone with a clue understands technique facilitates freedom. What does he think his particular skating discipline is about if not translating dance to the ice? Well, we all know. Skating whatever the fuck, however the fuck. He's absurd.<br /><br />Anyway, it was the first time I have seen fans suggesting that P&amp;C are full of themselves. In some respects, why shouldn't they be. They know it's not what their blades are doing that gets them on the podium, so they must have decided it's legit mystical, which is perfectly ok for a sanctioned Olympic sport.<br /><br />There's a lot in the article about how movement in the ranks is more possible now, without ever mentioning the superior skating skills upon which rapid upward movement is meant to be based. It's all a big mystery, per P&amp;C and the interviewer. The interviewer attempts to say they are admired by other skaters, but P&amp;C mostly report how they've received messages from other skaters saying something like, "Shit, if you two can be world champions without anything in your skating or previous history suggesting it, it gives me and my partner hope! Maybe we, too, can be random but fortunate pawns in a double (Olympic) cycle, multiple-Fed-engineered, quid pro quo!"<br /><br />Other stuff:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ogv-Zqexuq8/WaxpIY9xexI/AAAAAAAAJHQ/BvyvI6xrB6wygHsBANpU-mx6SZ2rdLnhgCLcBGAs/s1600/virtue%2Band%2Bmoir%2Btwist%2Blift%2Bvancouver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="273" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ogv-Zqexuq8/WaxpIY9xexI/AAAAAAAAJHQ/BvyvI6xrB6wygHsBANpU-mx6SZ2rdLnhgCLcBGAs/s640/virtue%2Band%2Bmoir%2Btwist%2Blift%2Bvancouver.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember this? Kind of a twist lift<br />at the end of Virtue &amp; Moir's Olympic OD.<br />20&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">minutes before performing the OD&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">at Worlds 2010,&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">the vaporous&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">figure&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">skating grapevine somehow conveyed&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">that this same maneuver might be illegal&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">to&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">perform&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">a</span><span style="font-size: small;">t Worlds.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">Due to to it being&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">possibly a kind of twist lift.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I remember Scott complaining about how he and Tessa try to push the envelope, but get pushback. I think he should have complained instead that he's in a recognized ISU discipline, yet a maneuver they executed at the Olympics mysteriously became possibly illegal for Worlds, but, you know, up to you. That's not how any legit sport functions.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-42cM1Y58v2I/WaxqpLwfXcI/AAAAAAAAJHc/e6nrcWYLDP4O2Gnom-GHNZT74pI7f1X0QCLcBGAs/s1600/virtue%2Band%2Bmoir%2Btwist%2Blift%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="755" height="364" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-42cM1Y58v2I/WaxqpLwfXcI/AAAAAAAAJHc/e6nrcWYLDP4O2Gnom-GHNZT74pI7f1X0QCLcBGAs/s640/virtue%2Band%2Bmoir%2Btwist%2Blift%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here it is, back.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Say nothing else about Virtue and Moir,&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">they like the long game.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Astrologically speaking, they may be Taurus (Tessa)</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">and Virgo (Scott), but as a team it's pure Scorpio.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aZWygqIhwL8/WawxJPwNTNI/AAAAAAAAJHA/DQaqcnmqE90eGWpraedyMj6xCNdmTrHpgCLcBGAs/s1600/quad%2Bsalchow%2Blubov%2Band%2Bdylan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="743" height="345" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aZWygqIhwL8/WawxJPwNTNI/AAAAAAAAJHA/DQaqcnmqE90eGWpraedyMj6xCNdmTrHpgCLcBGAs/s640/quad%2Bsalchow%2Blubov%2Band%2Bdylan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Iliushechina Moscovitch - quad sal at the Cricket Club.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Kirsten Moore-Towers is gnashing her teeth.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Moore-Towers wants to do a quad "yesterday." Maybe the above video was this team's only decent attempt in many tries, who knows, but it's a much better quality throw than Duhamel Radford's. They don't stop skating for half the rink before launch, it's an actual throw, not an assisted jump, and, while Lubov lands with a deep knee bend, it's not a crouch. Her carriage is open, and there's run of blade on her landing. Dylan's form at take-off is a mess - off the ice, lurching forward,&nbsp;<i>and</i>&nbsp;a mule kick, but the judges never seem to care what the guy does. Michael Marinaro certainly isn't going to show him up.<br /><br />Even if Iliushechkina blows a jump, it didn't stop Sui Han from becoming world champions last season. Often as not, pairs results are determined by which error-strewn performance manages to grind out the most points.<br /><br />Finally, Bryce Davison got married in June, an event I was skeptical would ever take place. Every photo I'd seen of the happy couple seemed awkward, IMO, and lacking conviction. There was a reserve, a stiffness. Then I read that his dearly beloved was a former skater, and I found this:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-auoVCnRIMUg/Way4syoNvGI/AAAAAAAAJHs/CTLQEeWDmyU2u1030uoe75xwGejkOq4owCLcBGAs/s1600/1v8sr4%2B%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="360" height="222" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-auoVCnRIMUg/Way4syoNvGI/AAAAAAAAJHs/CTLQEeWDmyU2u1030uoe75xwGejkOq4owCLcBGAs/s400/1v8sr4%2B%25281%2529.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Michelle Moore prior to taking the ice for Canada in 2009.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>That's one of the cutest things ever, and explains a lot.<br /><br />BTW, her skating skills are excellent. Just not a strong jumper. Congratulations Bryce Davison.<br /><br />P.S. Excerpt from Weaver &amp; Poje's Beverly Smith interview:<br /><br /><i>They were gleeful when the International Skating Union announced that the rhythm in the short dance for Olympic season would be Latin. “We LOVE Latin,” Weaver said. “We love the dancing in the clubs. We loved our Latin program from 2011 to 2012. It’s one of our favourite genres and styles. So without repeating ourselves, we wanted to find a way to still be exciting and entertaining.”</i><br /><br />*Excerpted on <i>Goldenskate.com</i><br /><i><br /></i> oycanadanoreply@blogger.com7